Mad Men

Behold the sad irony of the Emmy Awards telecast: It is designed to celebrate extraordinary TV shows, but it usually turns out to be dreadful, soul-killing television itself.

The good news this year is that we have a fresh and funny new host in Jimmy Kimmel. If he’s on his game, we expect to laugh like baboons.

Moreover, there’s an intriguing mix of exciting newcomers and established powerhouses among the nominees. Can “Downton Abbey” or “Homeland” break the “Mad Men” stranglehold on the best drama trophy? Will the cult-favorite “Girls” prove to be a threat to “Modern Family’s” comedic dominance?

Of course, predicting what Emmy voters will do is often an exercise in head-scratching futility. Just when you think they’re stuck in rubber-stamp mode, they fall in love with something — or someone — all shiny and new.

Still, there’s no harm in trying. Here’s our breakdown of major categories, along with our totally wild guesses. Wager at your own risk.

The lowdown: A victory would give “Mad Men” a record fifth trophy in this category. Although the moody period drama produced another superlative season, I have a hunch that Emmy is restless and ready to go home with someone else. If I had a vote, it would go to “Breaking Bad,” which has yet to win despite its enduring brilliance, or “Homeland,” which was easily the year’s best new drama. But this seems to be the year of the Brits, so I’m thinking that the voters fall for the sumptuous costumed splendor of “Downton Abbey.”

The lowdown: While the best drama category is a brutally tough call, this one should be a slam dunk. Danes deserves to reign supreme for her riveting performance as a mentally troubled CIA analyst trying to squash a potential terrorist threat. If she doesn’t win, the voters need a dose of electroshock therapy.

“Friday Night Lights,” the high school football drama that captivated a small, but fiercely loyal audience over its remarkable five-year run, was named Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association during its annual awards gala in Beverly Hills Saturday night.

The TCA also honored “Game of Thrones” as the Outstanding New Program of the year, and “Mad Men” for
Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the second straight year, “Modern Family” was cited for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.

It was AMC’s turn at bat this morning at the Television Critics Association summer tour. Some tidbits:

— Production on Season 5 of “Mad Men,” delayed because of contract negotiations, finally begins on Aug. 8 with series star Jon Hamm making his directorial debut in the opener. AMC is committed to at least two more seasons (5 & 6) of “Mad Men.” Debut date for Season 5 is TBA.

— AMC programming exec Joel Stillerman addressed the outrage over the inconclusive season finale of “The Killing.” “I think the major takeaway for us is that we would have taken a different approach to managing (viewer) expectations,” he said. “It was never our intention to mislead…We didn’t manage the expectations the way they should have been managed.” Stillerman vowed that fans will “definitely” find out who killed Rosie Larsen in Season 2.

— Stillerman did not provide reasons for the sudden change at the top of “The Walking Dead,” which had showrunner Frank Darabont making an unexpected exit. He said executive producer and writer Glen Mazzara will now run the show, and pointed out that Robert Kirkman, the man who created the graphic novels that inspired the series, will stay on as a writer and executive producer.

— AMC said that its newest drama series, “Hell On Wheels,” will debut on Nov. 6. It’s a period piece set in the post-Civil War era that examines the struggles and hardships that went into rebuilding the country. Anson Mount and Common head the cast.

All right, “Mad Men” fans, you can let out a sigh of relief. Creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner has just inked a long-term deal with AMC and Lionsgate assuring that he’ll be at the helm for a fifth, sixth — and possibly 7th season.

“I want to thank all of our wonderful fans for their support.” said Weiner in a press release. “I also want to thank AMC and Lionsgate for agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning. I’m excited to get started on the next chapter of our story.”

“Mad Men” has made television history as the only cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama and the Golden Globe for Best Television Series-Drama for three
consecutive years.

(“Mad Men” launches its fourth season tonight on AMC. Here’s our quickie review, which is pretty much spoiler free. If you want all the plot lines ruined for you, go read the New York Times):

Killing people on television is all the rage. Whether it’s via stunning accident or premeditated mayhem, shows routinely snuff out characters to send shock waves through our couch-bound bodies. They want to make us feel.

But “Mad Men” doesn’t play that game. It dwells in the sedate 1960s glory days of Madison Avenue, not the back alleys of Tony Soprano’s New Jersey. The bloodiest thing to ever happen on “Mad Men” was last season’s freakish office mishap that saw some poor sap lose his foot to a runaway tractor.

That doesn’t mean “Mad Men” can’t wreak its own brand of emotional violence. Watching the turbulent marriage of Don and Betty Draper (Jon Hamm and January Jones) implode during the show’s outstanding
Season 3 finale was as harrowing as a Soprano whack job. So harrowing, in fact, we’ve needed all year to recover.

Now, as the critically adored drama returns, both Don and Betty have their freedom from a sham of a marriage — but at what price? Meanwhile, on the work front, our dapper ad man is struggling mightily to put some oomph into his risky startup agency after he and a few companions declared their independence from the Brits.

Last season, “Mad Men” stagnated at times with plot lines that seemed to run in place. In stark contrast, Sunday night’s opening episode, “Public Relations,” delivers some jaw-dropping moments. But because we’ve been coerced by Matthew Weiner’s AMC henchmen to avoid being “spoilsports,” we won’t
go there.

It’s safe to say, though, that as Season 4 unfolds, Don is clearly out of sorts — and prone to un-Don-like behavior. It’s understandable considering this is a man who methodically constructed a glossy identity for himself only to see it dramatically obliterated.

Still, it’s significant that Don is fighting to retain any remnant of that identity that he can. When agency cohort Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) describes their new company as “the scrappy upstart,” he looks at him incredulously and replies, “You don’t say that to the clients, do you?”

If “Mad Men” has taught us anything over four years, it’s that image is everything.
“Mad Men”

This year’s Emmy Awards just might turn into one great big “Glee”-for-all.

The crazy, campy high school musical that had America singing its praises scored 19 Emmy nominations on Thursday, including bids for best comedy series and stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer.

Consider it an emphatic testament to the power of Madonna — and melodic mash-ups.

“Glee” led the charge of refreshing Emmy freshmen. Among the new shows making big breakthroughs were “Modern Family,” with nominations for best comedy series and for five members of its cast, and “The Good Wife,” with bid for best drama series and lead actress Julianna Margulies.

But the old guard wasn’t exactly left in the dust. Emmy once again showered lots of love on “Mad Men” and “30 Rock,” which will be back to defend their titles as best drama and comedy, respectively, when the awards are handed out on Aug. xx (xx, NBC). Also, the final season of “Lost” is justifiably well-represented with nominations for best drama, a first-time nod for star Matthew Fox and supporting bids for Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson.

The leading nominee was HBO’s sprawling World War II miniseries, “The Pacific,” with 24 nominations.

Overall, the Emmy field, lacks the quirkiness of last year, when shows like “Family Guy” and “Flight of the Conchords” seemingly came out of nowhere to crash the party. Even though “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “The Good Wife” bring plenty of fresh buzz to the proceedings, their emergence as Emmy forces was widely predicted by industry observers.

That doesn’t mean the nominations aren’t raising some eyebrows. Among the intriguing angles: Conan O’Brien’s version of “The Tonight Show” beat out Jay Leno’s in the best variety series category (Apparently Emmy voters are members of Team Coco). Scandal-plagued Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”) was bumped from the best comedy actor competition after nabbing nominations four straight years. David Letterman’s “Late Show” is also missing after a season in which the host admitted to affairs with female staff members and fought a blackmail attempt in court.

The nominations also delivered an uplifting feel-good story as Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, stars of the critically adored, but largely ignored, smalltown drama, “Friday Night Lights,” both secured nominations. Their sparkling performances as a middle-class husband and wife have been heralded since the show debuted in 2006, but until now Emmy voters had given them the cold shoulder.

The most interesting Emmy category is best comedy, which has undergone a major overhaul. Joining “Glee” and “Modern Family” as newcomers to the field is Edie Falco’s darkly humorous “Nurse Jackie.”

“Glee” and “Modern Family,” in particular, figure to pose a major challenge to the three-year domination of Tina Fey’s “30 Rock.” Both boldly redefined their genres and rode a wave of positive buzz through the season. Of the two, “Modern Family” was the most consistently funny and affecting. But while “Glee” didn’t always hit the right notes, it was the television phenomenon of the year and thus probably is the show to beat.

For all the changes in the comedy category, Emmy voters could be criticized for failing to take the revamp even further. Standout sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory,” “Community,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Cougar Town” could all make a strong case for inclusion in the club, but were snubbed. Meanwhile, “The Office” landed yet another a nomination, despite showing signs of creative wear and tear.

More reruns: To almost no one’s surprise, “30 Rock” wins as best comedy for the third straight year and “Mad Men” takes the golden girl two years straight.

“30 Rock”‘s three-peat scuttles the hopes of “Family Guy” fans who had hoped Peter, Stewie and the gang would strike a blow for animation.

In her acceptance speech, Tina Fey said, “We want to thank our friends at NBC for keeping us on the air — even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show.” It was a sly reference to NBC’s decision to air “The Jay Leno Show” in prime time and thus wipe five hours of costly scripted programming off the schedule.

Television’s top drama, “Mad Men” finally returns for Season 3 on Sunday (10 p.m., AMC) and change is in the air. The British invasion of Sterling Cooper has prompted a rash of layoffs, bringing with them both anxiety and opportunity (You’ll want to see how Pete reacts). On the home front, Don and Betty are trying to put their marital turbulence behind them with a baby on the way.